November 09, 2024
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Streator football vs. Decatur Eisenhower score, news, kickoff, live coverage

By J.T. Pedelty
The Streator Bulldogs football team brings in the huddle at the end of opening practice day at at Doug Dieken Stadium on August 12, 2024.

The Streator Bulldogs football team brings in the huddle at the end of opening practice day at at Doug Dieken Stadium (Kyle Russell)

Streator takes on Decatur Eiesenhower to open Week 1 of the 2024 IHSA football season. Friday Night Drive editor J.T. Pedelty will have live updates, scores and news from the game.

What to know

Streator vs. Eiesenhower kickoff: 7 p.m.

Where: Decatur Eiesenhower High School

Streator-Eiesenhower preview

About the Bulldogs: Streator has a new head coach (Matt Cloe) for the first time since 2020 and a new starting quarterback (Isaiah Weibel) for the first time since 2021. The Bulldogs also have a new philosophy of trying to build a physical football team centered on line play, hard-nosed defense and a balanced offensive attack. How far along they are in that transformation will be on display Friday against a new opponent for Streator, which replaced its usual Week 1 game with East Peoria by adding Decatur Eisenhower, a 212-mile round trip. Some players to keep an eye on for the Bulldogs include the dual-threat Weibel, RB/DBs Anthony Mohr and Jordan Lukes, OL/DL Liam Martin and WR/DB Matt Williamson. There will be no preliminary game, with the JV contest moved to Monday in Streator.

About the Panthers: Eisenhower is coming off a 1-8 season and a 10th-place finish in the 11-team Central State Eight Conference in 2023. (The conference split into divisions this fall.) It was a season in which their average final score was a 53.6-11.6 defeat, with the Panthers piling up 46 of their 104 points in their lone victory – a 46-24 win over Springfield Lanphier in Week 4 that saw then-sophomore QB Garryon Henderson account for four total touchdowns. Henderson, like Weibel a runner as well as a thrower, returns as a captain this season looking to lead the Panthers to their first winning season since back-to-back Class 5A playoff years in 2015 and 2016. Eisenhower is the second largest opponent on Streator’s schedule, 211 students smaller than Ottawa and 205 larger than Streator.

Friday Night Drive pick: Streator

Postgame analysis:

Join us at 9:30 p.m. for Live with Friday Night Drive

Live updates: